198:. After a period learning to swim and hunt, and losing a sibling in a trap, he is separated from his mother and wanders around North Devon alone. His first mate is an elderly otter called Greymuzzle, who is killed during Tarka's first winter, which is unusually harsh. In his second year, he fathers a litter of cubs with his second mate, White-tip. Throughout the book Williamson juxtaposes Tarka with his main enemy, the local otter hunt, and particularly the pied hound Deadlock, "the truest marking-hound in the country of the Two Rivers" (p. 23). The book ends with a climactic nine-hour hunt of Tarka by the pack, and a confrontation between Tarka and Deadlock. Williamson's attitude to the hunt is somewhat ambivalent: while admiring them for their own regard for and knowledge of the otter, and despite being personally friendly with his local hunt, the violence and cruelty of some of his descriptions of hunting is clear.
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242:, Hughes described him as "one of the truest English poets of his generation". His writing is also characterised by a lack of sentimentality about the animals it describes; Williamson is generally careful to avoid anthropomorphising them and rarely attempts to present any but their most basic or instinctual mental processes.
162:(the "Two Rivers"); the name "Tarka" is said by Williamson to mean "Wandering as Water" (p. 10). Although not written for children, the book soon became popular with young readers, and also influenced literary figures as diverse as
313:(and more specifically its later film adaptation) is credited with inspiring a transformation in public attitudes to otters. The book remains well-known, and is often used to promote the area of North Devon where it is set. The
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about two years later: although he was usually a rather rapid writer, the book took him around four years to write thanks to the large amount of detailed research needed. Williamson often claimed that he was inspired to write
421:. In 1974, Williamson began working on a script for a film treatment of the novel, but it was not regarded as suitable to film. Having previously rejected two separate offers from
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The book is separated into two main parts, "The First Year" and "The Last Year". It begins shortly before the birth of Tarka in an otter holt on the River
Torridge, near the
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291:, was a more substantial influence. Nevertheless, Williamson spent a great deal of time gathering information on otters' habits and behaviour.
369:, who later became friends with an elderly Williamson, repeatedly cited reading the book as an important experience for him, while the author
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after rescuing and raising an otter cub, but the truth of this story is uncertain and it seems likely that the 1909 book
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wrote that he admired the "beauty and ice-clear accuracy" of
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At the time the book was published, otters were generally regarded as vermin, but
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narrated an audiobook version of the story, released as a double audio cassette.
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Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the
Country of the Two Rivers
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Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the
Country of the Two Rivers
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and to the establishment of the Tarka
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in 1928, and has never been out of print since its first publication.
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Others to whom the book was significant included the nature writers
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long distance footpath and cycle path, are named after the book.
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would be two of three books she might take to a desert island.
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Encyclopedia of
British Writers, 1800 to the Present, Volume 2
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Williamson wrote with a descriptive style which some, such as
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International
Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
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Tarka the Otter manuscript in the Henry
Williamson archive
481:, January 1971, Paperback (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator)
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has continued to be an influential work. American writer
492:, March 1981, Hardcover (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator)
341:, next to the River Torridge. Sculpted by Rowan Fawdon.
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Aqueduct, the "Canal Bridge" near which Tarka was born
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Field of Vision: The Broadcast Life Of Kenneth Allsop
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Williamson, who was born in London and had moved to
525:, June 1995, Paperback (Annabel Large, Illustrator)
467:1962, UK, Revised edition, Puffin Books, Paperback
444:poll. The soundtrack for the film was composed by
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294:The original edition featured illustrations by
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461:1927, UK, G. P. Putnams Sons, 1927, Hardback
726:at University of Exeter Special Collections
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349:and many of his works are now little read,
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536:, Paperback (Jeremy Gavron, Introduction)
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201:Locations featured in the book include
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470:1965, UK, Bodley Head, 1965, Hardback
135:with an introduction by the Hon. Sir
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700:The Pegasus Book of the Countryside
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146:The novel describes the life of an
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495:1982, US, Salem House Publishers
337:Sculpture of Tarka the Otter in
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391:The book has led to Britain's
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16:For the film adaptation, see
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698:"BB" (Watkins-Pitchford),
665:Rachel Carson: A Biography
595:, Random House, 2009, p.84
377:as a "great mythic poem".
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22:Tarka (disambiguation)
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246:History and reception
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755:Novels about otters
750:Novels set in Devon
740:1927 British novels
676:Deakin, 2009, p.185
663:Quaratiello, A. R.
429:, whom he trusted.
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448:and performed by
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323:Tarka Trail
287:naturalist
211:Morte Point
196:Beam estate
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734:Categories
604:Hogan, W.
587:Quoted in
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367:Ted Hughes
319:Barnstaple
315:Tarka Line
230:Ted Hughes
223:Torrington
164:Ted Hughes
635:Hunt, P.
589:Deakin, R
442:Channel 4
399:Audiobook
329:Influence
268:Georgeham
260:Georgeham
158:in North
152:River Taw
86:Publisher
593:Waterlog
339:Bideford
239:Waterlog
217:and the
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207:Marland
116:England
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272:Tarka
160:Devon
148:otter
81:novel
75:Genre
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384:and
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